DVD Reviews

The Escapist – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Jan 25, 2010, 15:50 GMT

5 men. 4 walls. 1 plan.The jailbreak genre has a new white-knuckle classic: Brian Cox of Zodiac and The Bourne Supremacy stars as convict Frank Perry, a tough lifer determined to bust out of a London penitentiary to see his terminally ill daughter before she dies. But first he ll have to assemble a hardcore crew, battle the brutal prison kingpin, and pull off one of the most daring and ...more

The Escapist would at first appear to be a typical prison film, but it’s bolstered by a different setting and some great acting.

Frank Perry (Brian Cox) has become accustomed to his prison confines and he should since he’s going to be there for the rest of his life. That changes when he gets a letter from his family, the first letter he has gotten in fourteen years. His beloved daughter is a junkie whose heart has stopped twice and the third time will be her last. He decides that he’s going to break out to try and see her one last time and maybe even set things right with her and save her life.

About the time that he is deciding to break out, he gets a new cellmate named James Lacey (Dominic Cooper). Lacey catches the eye of Tony (Steven Mackintosh), the junkie brother of Rizza (Damien Lewis), the ruler of the cellblock. Frank recruits Brodie (Liam Cunningham) who knows the tunnels beneath the prison, prison chemist Viv (Seu Jorge), and prison tough Lenny (Joseph Fiennes) in his plan.

The Escapist is a pretty standard prison film. It’s bolstered by two factors. The first is that the prison is in England which provides an interesting change of location. The second is that the cast is peppered with some fine actors.

The one that stands out is Brian Cox in a role that was tailor made for him and won him a BAFTA Scotland award in 2009 for his performance. I knew that he won so I was expecting perhaps more. Not that Cox is bad but it just appeared to be a typical role for him. That was until a final speech delivered to the menacing Rizza and I knew why Cox had won. That moment and speech certainly sealed Cox’s win.

The cast is peppered with excellent actors, some playing against type. Damien Lewis and Joseph Fiennes usually play nicer guys than they do here so the stretch to play bad or grizzled characters might’ve been the draw. Obviously I’m sure everyone wanted to work with Cox. Dominic Cooper, Liam Cunningham, and Seu Jorge also shine in their roles.

It’s an all guys show so your date might not appreciate that and there is a bit of a twist ending (don’t read the description at Wikipedia if you don’t want it spoiled), but it all hinges on that wonderful scene between Cox and Lewis.

Also if you’re going to commit a crime you could get a life sentence for you may want to do it in the States since the English prison system looks like a medieval dungeon. Mind you with a new coat of white paint, but the place is not one you want to spend the rest of yours days in.

The Escapist is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include 8 minutes of deleted scenes, a 13 minute making of, and the 90 second trailer.

The Escapist doesn’t add much to the prison escape genre, but it does offer up some fantastic performances. Brian Cox acquits himself with panache and style and the rest of the cast is game as well.